Larry Poulin Clinic - working on "energy"

[targetsmom]

Princess and I went to a Larry Poulin Clinic yesterday where my goal was to learn how to get her more forward and moving with more energy. Larry also spoke at our driving club meeting the night before where I learned that the main thing he looks for in a driving horse is the "desire to move forward". As you might guess, Princess is a bit lazy (a lot like my big horse, Target) so it wasn't the best thing to learn right before the clinic. She is 7 years old, about 32" tall and is a "Classic Pleasure" mover. What I like about her movement is her fairly long stride and relatively slow (for a mini!) tempo.

For background (or just for fun) here is a very short video of her (the black and white), my Cross Country Call Me Sir Daughter (the bay and white) and HER daughter (the buckskin). They all look like they have plenty of energy here!

 

[studiowvw]

Thanks for the videos. I think these videos that people are posting are great education and would love to see some every day

To my (non-expert) eye she appeared to be moving with more momentum or rhythm in the clinic video.

Looking forward to reading some more experienced opinions.

 

[CZP1]

What a cute little mare. She looks more forward in the second video to me as she seems to be using the hind quarter more pushing off, more impulsion in the second video compared to the first. Different footing too as I think the outside being uneven compared to the indoor.

My gelding Cheyenne is the same way (lazy) and we used the same techique with the whip from lessons I take with my instructor Barbie Black here in NC. It has helped him tremendously in his impulsion and way of moving. You both look very nice though. You look very relaxed and got it going on!

BTW Love your house in the backround. Love the New England style salt boxes. Don't see them in NC, I am originally from NY, so I love that style house.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I snuck on at home today so I could see the videos and I have to admit I was a little startled. Princess tracks up so well that I always thought she was a pretty forward horse but it appears that's just the way she moves. She is LAZY in cart!

Wow. Larry has you getting after her and pushing her on, which is good, and I'd like to see you doing a lot of frequent transition work at home holding a strong contact with her mouth through the transitions so she doesn't get "let down" in the lower gait. You'd ask for a trot, get her going up into the bridle, then ask for a walk but keep that energy and push her forward into a hustling walk. The minute she starts to lose that energy have her trot, then ask for the transition again and see if she'll keep the energy a little longer each time. This is hard work for a horse! Especially one that isn't used to moving with energy, so keep your sessions short and only ask her for that at the end of a workout when she's really warmed up. She should get to the point where she's really pushing with her hind end at the walk and springs easily into a trot the minute you ask. Once they know how to do that you can always soften up and allow them to work less hard during normal transitions but it really energizes them and teaches them what you're looking for in a forward gait.

I would also be interested to see Princess going in a lighter cart for comparison. I love the one you have but I know Kody moves more ponderously in his Minicrown than he does in his Frontier and requires more motivation to appear forward. Could that be part of the issue with Princess?

Just as an example, at about 1:40 into this

video you can see what I consider Kody's best forward trot. This was back in 2008 with Susanne and Mingus (the bay). He's not capable of moving like that anymore with his back injury, sadly, but that was the kind of energy I'd gotten from him with the exercise above. Princess DOES appear to have more impulsion in your clinic video, we just need to help you continue that trend.

Leia

 

[targetsmom]

Thank you everyone!! I think Leia nailed some of the key issues. Yes, Princess is lazy in cart but I also think some of it is a combination of lack of conditioning and the cart is heavy for her. I will go back to using my Graber show cart for awhile and see if that helps. One other issue might be the Remission she is on because she is insulin resistant. That has the same ingredients as Quiessence and may be quieting her down too much. I lowered the dose but hate to take her off it completely and possibly risk founder. And I admit I keep Kody very much in mind as I would rather not push her too much and risk hurting her, so maybe I am part of the problem too. I would LOVE it if she always moved like Kody at the 1:40 point in your video! Thanks so much for sharing the video - that was really helpful. I think Princess CAN move like that - that was the way she felt last summer when those judges all oohed and aahed over her. I was actually holding her in a little (she had NO warm-up), which is hard to believe for such a lazy horse!

Princess is so much like my big horse Target that I hope to take lessons from the instructor that helped him so much. She is interested, but we have been waiting for my horses to get healthy and for her to get back from Florida. In Target's lessons, we did LOTS of transitions so it is good to hear you think the same way. I have also been trying to improve Princess's trot with canter work on long lines and when free longing. I am hoping that I can get the same kind of result with her that I got with Target; this instructor said he could go from a $500 horse to looking like a $30,000 one when he got moving! And I think it should be easier to fix laziness than it would be to change her stride???

 

[RhineStone]

She is LAZY in cart!

I have a mare that resembles that remark!

She is more fun to drive when she spooks, especially after driving very forward Alax! Even her spooking seems "controlled".

We are working on some hill work with that mare, trying to get her muscles and stamina built up. She is also more ambitious outside of the arena, so we take her in the woods quite a bit. I get bored driving her in the arena. (Where's the "yawning" emoticon?)

Myrna

 

[hobbyhorse23]

And I admit I keep Kody very much in mind as I would rather not push her too much and risk hurting her, so maybe I am part of the problem too.

I understand. You've got to realize though that Kody's problem was that he was not built to stay sound.

He's very short through the pelvis, short and steep through the femur and stifle, severely howhocked and had those darn locking stifles. All of those things combined means that he doesn't have a big engine and moves with a lot of energy-wasting, muscle-straining swivel to his hind legs. Add to that the fact he spent years doing the hardest sport around with those locking stifles and it's no wonder he has problems. He's never been either agile or fast- he's not built to be. He spent years standing with his stifles rotated out trying to avoid locking (compressing his lower back) and every time he'd try to move forward the leg stuck and pulled on his lower back. Everything he did even in the pasture was twice or three times the strain it should have been. In hindsight I honestly think if I had given him the stifle surgery right away, learned to rasp his hind toes myself so they were always rolled and took my time with his rehab he would still be sound and probably doing Intermediate level work today. Being properly forward was probably the most helpful thing we did as it straightened out his limbs and got him flexing that lower back! It was the only time he moved right.

Princess and most normal horses are not going to have that sort of problem. Ever. I've learned many lessons from Kody which I hope will help me keep Turbo sound for years and years and I try to comfort myself that something positive has therefore come from his pain. It's the only way I can look at his limitations with anything less than tremendous sorrow. Others have told me many times that I did more for him than most people would have and I'll admit they're right, but it still hurts that it feels like I didn't do enough to keep him from getting hurt. My failure was in preventing it though, not causing it through pushing him too hard.

It is very important to take things at the speed the horse is physically ready for them and I commend you for considering Princess's medications and lack of condition in the overall picture. Being forward and powerful does not come overnight! But someday, if you work her consistently in the manner you did Target, she'll be spectacular.

Love that girl!

Leia

 

[jegray21]

thanks for sharing your video!